Nascent Thunderbolt
by RisingPhoenix56
Summary: First fanfic! A sister's bond is never shattered. It holds steadfast, through bad luck, school drama, forgotten lessons, sacrifices, and failed missions. A look into the life of the Farron sisters from the beginning of their lives to the beginning of the game.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Final Fantasy XIII or its characters in any way, shape, or form. The saga belongs to Square Enix. I do not profit from this fanfic. At all. Happy now, lawyers?

* * *

Thunder rocked the earth as lightning scorched the sky. Rain cascaded down in torrential sheets. Though the resort town of Bodhum had seen more than its share of thunderstorms, this one left them all behind. The town's inhabitants cowered in their homes, and even the orphans on the street were let inside. Several of the town's power grids had been knocked out, and the hospital was one of the few buildings left that had light.

Inside, Mike Farron watched his wife with a mix of concern and nervousness. The rain outside was so loud, the doctors and nurses could hardly hear each other, even when shouting. The soon-to-be-father squeezed his wife's hand a little harder.

"Just a little more, Ceciliara." He reassured her. "It's almost over."

Ceciliara howled with pain as thunder clapped and shook the whole building. Finally, after a few minutes seemed like an eternity, a baby's cry sounded in tandem with the storm's thirteenth strike of lightning. The doctor picked the infant up.

"Mr. and Mrs. Farron," the doctor said. "On this day, August 13, at 1:13 pm, I present to you your healthy daughter."

The infant's wailing subsided as she was placed in her mother's arms. She looked up at her smiling parents with big blue eyes.

"She's got your hair," Mike commented as he felt the infant's tuft of pink fuzziness. Ceciliara smiled.

"It's all messy like yours." She replied. The infant in question gurgled.

"So, um…" Mike began. "Now what do we do?" He was completely clueless as to being a father. The nurse behind him chuckled.

"How about you two start with a name?" she suggested. Mike grinned in slight embarrassment.

"Yeah," he replied. "That would be a good start." He turned to his wife. "Do you have any ideas?" he asked. Ceciliara looked into the infant's clear blue eyes.

"I like Claire," she said. "It's always been one of my favorites."

"All right," Mike replied. "Claire it is."

The nurse behind them punched a few more buttons on her keyboard and the printer spat out a standardized sheet of paper. The nurse held out the official birth certificate to the parents. Mike took it and examined the details. The date and time written on the certificate finally registered in the father's mind.

"Look at all the thirteens." he commented. "She's going to have some interesting luck." Ceciliara simply gazed into the infant's face.

"She's our daughter," she responded. "I believe she can make her own luck."

* * *

**A/N: Short, I know. The chapters will grow progressively longer as more of them are added. This scene just popped into my head and I needed to write it. Please review- I'm desperate to improve.**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Thanks to all who reviewed, followed, favorited, and the like. Lets me know people read and liked the intro- which is always good to hear… or, in this case, see?**

**This will not be a Farroncest story, sorry for those who wanted it to be. I feel like the ratio between Farroncests and sisterly relationships on this site is vastly in the Farroncest favor. **

**This was originally supposed to be two separate chapters, but I felt that they should have been blended into one. Let me know what you think, though- sequencing structure is something I need to work on- I don't usually pay much attention to it.**

* * *

"Come on, Daddy!" Claire shouted behind her. Mike chuckled. For a three-year-old toddler, his little girl was certainly fast. When she wanted to get somewhere, she went with all her heart, and nothing on Cocoon or Pulse could stop her.

"All right, all right, I'm coming!" Mike called as he quickened his pace. Today was the day he had promised Claire he'd show her the town of Bodhum. There was no one better suited than him. After all, he was the manager of Bodhum's touring services. Mike caught up with Claire and hoisted her onto his shoulders. "There, now you can see better, right?" Claire giggled in glee.

"Your hair is messy." She said as she pulled her father's spiky brown hair.

"Yep." Mike replied as he walked towards the beach. "It always is."

"Why?" the curious toddler wanted to know.

"That's a good question."

"Why?"

"Because I don't know the answer to it."

"Why?"

Mike sighed. He knew he should be used to Claire's constant stream of questions, _but they still never ended_. Finally, the lapping shores of the beach saved him. Mike looked up at his daughter.

"Do you see what I see, Claire?" he said as he watched his daughter's eyes brighten with excitement.

"The beach!" Claire exclaimed as Mike set her down. Claire dashed off toward the crashing waves, without a care in the world. Mike watched her in amusement. She was so little and so full of life. He soon joined the little girl frolicking in the sand. Mike knelt down in front of his precious little girl.

"Do you see those big rocks over there?" Mike said as he pointed to the stone pier. Claire looked up from her crude sand castle and nodded eagerly. "That's the best place to catch shoreline fish." Claire stared wide-eyed at her father.

"Do you tell other people this?" she asked. Mike nodded.

"It's my job." He replied. Claire cocked her head.

"Like…what you want to be when you grow up?" she asked, still unfamiliar with the concept of "work". Mike nodded again, amused with her idealistic sense of a job. In a toddler's mind, everything worked out just how it was supposed to be. Claire's eyes moved off toward the sea. "When I grow up…" she began. "I want to be perfect!" Mike smiled at her.

"That's great," he replied. "But you'd be missing out on important things." Claire cocked her head again, clearly confused. "You see," Mike began. "When you're perfect, you don't make mistakes. You do everything exactly and never, ever mess up. And if you don't mess up, you don't know how to continue on when you do. You don't know how to be strong." Claire's brow furrowed in deeper confusion.

"But…" she protested, confused. "If I was perfect, then I'd be strong, right? I'd be as strong as the fal'Cie!" The father smiled again.

"I don't mean this strength," Mike clarified as he pointed to Claire's arm. "I mean this strength." Mike pointed to the toddler's heart. "The strength to forgive yourself and others is one of the greatest human virtues." Claire was still confused.

"Huh?" she responded. "You're not making any sense, Daddy!" Mike chuckled.

"So I'm not." He replied. "Let's work on that sand castle, shall we?"

Mike knew that even though she didn't understand now, she would later in life. And, one day, she would thank him for that conversation.

* * *

-a few days later-

Claire sat in her playroom, staring at her toys. They stared back, happy and promising. But something seemed to be missing, and Claire couldn't quite put her finger on it.

A piercing wail interrupted Claire's small thoughts. Slightly startled, she rose to her feet to investigate. Her three-year-old feet took her to the doorway on the nursery room. The little creature in the crib was crying again. Claire looked around. Her parents were outside in the garden- leaving Claire to take care of her little sister. But the three-year-old had no idea what to do. Usually, her parents dealt with the alien when she cried, and Claire never paid any attention to what they did to calm the sonic maelstrom.

Claire walked over to the edge of the crib to figure out what to do. She peered over the crib, and azure eyes met azure eyes. The infant looked at Claire and stopped crying, choosing to giggle instead. Figuring that the problem was fixed, whatever it was, Claire turned to leave. The infant immediately started crying again. Claire turned around and faced the infant again. She stopped crying and proceeded to chew on her foot.

"No, don't do that!" Claire said as she gently brushed her sister's foot away from Serah's mouth. Serah reached a tiny hand out to her sister. Claire froze, and then gently placed her finger in Serah's palm. Serah clamped her tiny hand around the finger and looked up at her sister with adoring eyes. Claire stared back, eyes much softer than they were before. Serah didn't let go of her sister's finger. And, quite frankly, Claire didn't want her to.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Sooo, this was supposed to be out three weeks ago, but life decided to happen. My grandfather had passed away the same week that my AP Literature and AP Chemistry teachers decided to assign two 75-point assessments and a 125-point prompt. And then they just wouldn't stop assigning stuff. Not to mention my taekwondo master has been breathing down my back about the upcoming competition season, and the impending black belt test. So it's felt like I've been dodging bullets for three weeks. Then I managed to lose the outline to this fanfic and had to rewrite the thing. I apologize for the delay.**

**Thank you to those who reviewed, favorited, followed and read. Here is the next chapter. I hope you enjoy.**

* * *

…_as a smirk cracked across the villainous l'Cie's features. It brandished its pronged spear and pointed it at its obstacle._

_ "Ya really think ya can stop me, whelp?" it taunted. "Ya really think ya can stand in the way of a l'Cie and her Focus?"_

_ Eden's chosen hero narrowed his eyes as he gripped his blade tighter._

_ "I'm not going to let you destroy Cocoon. I made a vow."_

_The primal l'Cie narrowed its eyes._

_ "Oh yeah?" it retorted. "Is that it then? You're just gonna have to get used to disappointment, aren't you?" It slammed its spear into the ground. "Here." It said. "Lemme teach you."_

_The horrid brand on the I'Cie's arm began to glow menacingly. The l'Cie's growl turned to a battle cry as the light enveloped the hero's sight. A massive gust of wind exploded from the ball of light, forcing the hero backwards. A tremendous roar echoed through the sky as the earth quaked. The light subsided._

_Ragnarok towered above, cloaked in all its terrible power._

_Eden's hero brandished his blade. He re-dug his stance. He would not fail._

"_With trusty blade, and fal'Cie's aid…" he muttered under his breath. His voice soon rose to its own roar. "I will defend Cocoon!"_

_Ragnarok charged, and the hero charged to it. He leapt into the air and slashed his blade downwards to meet—_

"BONNZAAAAAIIIIII!"

Claire's head jerked up only to get smacked in the face with a pillow. She was plowed off her chair in the subsequent tackle, her face full of little sister. Claire's book clattered to the floor.

"Let's play!" Serah chirped. "Play-play-play-play-play!" Her 9-year-old legs swung in the air fervently. Claire groaned under the weight. How hard does it have to be to read a book around here?

"Gerroff, Serah." Claire mumbled as she gently pushed her sister off. No sooner had Claire rolled over onto her hands and knees did Serah return with a vengeance. The little sister leapt onto Claire's back, flattening her again.

"Not until you play with me!" Serah replied enthusiastically. Claire managed to push herself up enough to catch a breath.

"I can't play with you if you're pinning me down." Claire reasoned. Serah cocked her head, digesting the information. Then she shrugged and turned back to her sister.

"Play with me anyway!" she demanded. Claire chuckled. The logic of a nine year old could be so cute sometimes.

"All right, all right!" Claire replied. "Just get off, will you?" Serah finally rolled off her sister. Claire stood up and picked her book off the ground, found the page she was on and stared at it. She already knew the story of Ragnarok by heart, but something about it always pulled her into the story, and she was at a loss as to why. Claire looked up from her thoughts. Serah sat in front of her, quivering with energy. Claire had to find a way to burn her sister's energy away, and she couldn't do it here. Serah would end up completely trashing the house. Claire set the book on the table.

"Come on," she said as she took Serah's hand. "Let's go to the market."

* * *

Claire cruised behind her sister, watching her paddle ahead. The second Claire had stepped outside, Serah challenged her to a race and sped off. Claire, being the older one, had much longer legs and thus was faster than Serah. She could have easily beaten her little sister, but decided to hang back and let Serah take the glory. With one triumphant leap, Serah planted her feet the marketplace stone and whooped.

"Yay!" she cried out. "I won! I won! I beat Big Sis!" Claire smiled as she caught up.

"So what do you want to play now?" she asked. Serah's eyes gleamed as she looked up at her sister.

"Hide-and-seek!" she chirped. "You're it!" Serah darted off before Claire could say anything. Or close her eyes, for that matter. Claire waited ten seconds, and then began to walk in the opposite direction. What good would a hide-and-seek game be if she found her sister within a minute?

It wasn't long until Claire wandered outside of the town and into the nearby forest. She didn't realize it until she heard the roar to her left. Curiosity overpowered fear, and Claire moved toward the sound.

She should have turned back.

The sight that greeted her was not an iridescent one; it was sprayed dark red with human blood. Four Guardian Corps privates fired hopelessly at a behemoth. Claire stood rooted in her spot, frozen by fear. She watched as the behemoth raised a massive claw, swinging it down with an unimaginable force. The behemoth's paw raked through a private's armor, and Claire could hear a sickening crack as the behemoth shattered his ribcage. The private sailed backwards, and his back slammed against a tree. He slumped to the ground- lifeless. Claire finally snapped out of her stupor and ran for her life.

* * *

Serah peered through the slit in the box she was hiding in. It had been a good half hour, and Claire had not found her yet. But Serah didn't mind. She enjoyed watching the grown-ups scurry around. It made her feel like a grown-up. But then there was Big Sis. She wasn't a grown-up. And she was awesome. She could chase all the monsters away from under Serah's bed.

Yeah. Screw the grown-ups. Serah wanted to be like Big Sis.

A strange sight brought Serah out of her thoughts. She spotted three oddly dressed men trudging through the alley, heads hung low. Their white and yellow shirts were ripped with some sort of odd white patching. Once they got close enough, Serah recognized the insignia on their shirts. They were from the Guardian Corps. One of the soldiers turned to face another, and Serah caught sight of red. Red. Those weren't shirt patchings: they were bandages. Fresh ones. Serah's heart stopped. She never wanted to see anyone hurt, and those wounds must have been brutal. Once the soldiers had passed, Serah felt the box being lifted off of her.

"There you are." A familiar voice said. Serah turned around and locked eyes with Claire's. A feeling of safety washed over her as she tackled Claire's feet.

"You found me." She murmured. Claire chuckled.

"I'll always find you." She responded. "Let's go home now, okay?"

* * *

It was late at night when Ceciliara finally made it home, tired beyond belief. She had been working double shifts at two jobs all day, and was looking forward to some well-earned rest. She trudged up the steps and turned her key in the door. She opened it and listened for little feet. She heard none.

"Serah?" she called, closing the door behind her. "Claire?" Ceciliara was met only by silence. She glanced at the clock. _Eleven. They should be here,_ she thought. Ceciliara went upstairs and checked on both bedrooms. They were empty. Starting to panic, Ceciliara went back downstairs. She crossed the foyer and went into the kitchen, peering into the living room. There, sleeping on the couch, were the both of them. Claire had her arms wrapped protectively around her little sister, while Serah hugged her right back. Ceciliara walked over her girls and stroked Claire's hair. Claire sighed in contentment and Serah snuggled closer to her big sister. Ceciliara smiled softly. Ever since Mike passed away three years ago, the girls had grown even closer. They could not have coped his death without each other. Ceciliara couldn't have survived it without them. Ceciliara scooped up both girls and deposited them in Claire's bed. She kissed each of them on their foreheads, and then settled into her own bed. They'd get through, as long as they had each other.


End file.
